With the start of the Battle of Saipan 15 June 1944, its 36th Infantry Regiment was sent to Saipan, but returned to division soon as Saipan was lost before 36th regiment could arrive. Simultaneously, the 28th Division was reassigned to the 32nd Army in June, 1944 and reassigned to the Ryukyu Islands, specifically to Miyakojima (where it based its headquarters) and Ishigaki archipelago. Its former garrison and some left-over troops were incorporated into 112th division.

In the Battle of Okinawa, the 28th Division main positions were never invaded, but were heavily bombed and subject to coastal bombardment. As all higher-ranking officers of the 32nd Army were killed, the Naumi Toshiro, commander of the 28th division, have signed a surrender document for the 32nd Army after the surrender of Japan. The division was disbanded 13 December 1945.

1.
Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire also gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender, Occupation and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese. This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was also given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied. While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan also launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, however, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces

2.
Imperial Japanese Army
–
The Imperial Japanese Army or IJA, literally Army of the Greater Japanese Empire, was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan, from 1871 to 1945. Later an Inspectorate General of Military Aviation became the agency with oversight of the army. During the Meiji Restoration, the forces loyal to Emperor Meiji were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist daimyōs of Satsuma. This central army, the Imperial Japanese Army, became even more essential after the abolition of the han system in 1871. One of the differences between the samurai and the peasant class was the right to bear arms, this ancient privilege was suddenly extended to every male in the nation. In 1878, the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office, based on the German General Staff, was established directly under the Emperor and was given broad powers for military planning and strategy. The Japanese invasion of Taiwan under Qing rule in 1874 was an expedition by Japanese military forces in response to the Mudan Incident of December 1871. The Paiwan people, who are indigenous peoples of Taiwan, murdered 54 crewmembers of a merchant vessel from the Ryukyu Kingdom on the southwestern tip of Taiwan. 12 men were rescued by the local Chinese-speaking community and were transferred to Miyako-jima in the Ryukyu Islands and it marked the first overseas deployment of the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy. Not surprisingly, the new led to a series of riots from disgruntled samurai. One of the riots, led by Saigō Takamori, was the Satsuma Rebellion. Thenceforth, the military existed in an intimate and privileged relationship with the imperial institution, top-ranking military leaders were given direct access to the Emperor and the authority to transmit his pronouncements directly to the troops. The sympathetic relationship between conscripts and officers, particularly junior officers who were mostly from the peasantry, tended to draw the military closer to the people. In time, most people came to look more for guidance in matters more to military than to political leaders. By the 1890s, the Imperial Japanese Army had grown to become the most modern army in Asia, well-trained, well-equipped, however, it was basically an infantry force deficient in cavalry and artillery when compared with its European contemporaries. The Sino-Japanese War would come to symbolize the weakness of the military of the Qing dynasty and this was the result by Japans 120, 000-strong western-style conscript army of two armies and five divisions, which was well-equipped and well-trained when compared with their Qing counterparts. The Treaty of Shimonoseki made the Qing defeat official, with a shift in regional dominance in Asia from China to Japan. In 1899–1900, Boxer attacks against foreigners in China intensified eventually resulting in the siege of the legations in Beijing

3.
Infantry
–
Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice

4.
Manchukuo
–
Manchukuo was a puppet state in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, which was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The area, collectively known as Manchuria by westerners and Japanese, was designated by Chinas erstwhile Qing Dynasty as the homeland of the familys ethnic group. In 1931, the region was seized by Japan following the Mukden Incident and a government was installed one year later with Puyi. Manchukuos government was abolished in 1945 after the defeat of Imperial Japan at the end of World War II, Manchus formed a minority in Manchukuo, whose largest ethnic group were Han Chinese. The population of Koreans increased during the Manchukuo period, and there were also Japanese, Mongols, White Russians, the Mongol regions of western Manchukuo were ruled under a slightly different system in acknowledgement of the Mongolian traditions there. The southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula was ruled by Japan as the Kwantung Leased Territory, Manchuria is a transcription of the Japanese reading of the Chinese word 滿洲 which means Manchuria, which in Japanese is Manshū, which in turn dates from the 19th century. The name Manzhou was invented and given to the Jurchen people by Hong Taiji in 1635 as a new name for their ethnic group. However, the name Manchuria was never used by the Manchus or the Qing dynasty itself to refer to their homeland, the name itself holding imperialistic connotation. According to Mark C. 满洲 then began to appear as a place names in more maps created by Japanese like Kondi Jūzō, Takahashi Kageyasu, Baba Sadayoshi and these maps were brought to Europe by the Dutch Philipp von Siebold. According to Bill Sewell, it was Europeans who first started using Manchuria as a name to refer to the location, the historian Gavan McCormack agreed with Robert H. G. Ordinary Manchus largely spurned Manchukuo which claimed to be established for their cause, the Japanese had their own motive for deliberately spreading the usage of the term Manchuria. The historian Norman Smith wrote that The term Manchuria is controversial, professor Mariko Asano Tamanoi said that she should use the term in quotation marks, when referring to Manchuria. Herbert Giles wrote that Manchuria was unknown to the Manchus themselves as a geographical expression, the Qing Dynasty, which replaced the Shun and Ming dynasties in China, was founded by Manchus from Manchuria. The Manchu emperors separated their homeland in Jilin and Heilongjiang from the Han Liaoning province with the Willow Palisade and this ethnic division continued until the Qing dynasty encouraged massive immigration of Han in the 19th century during Chuang Guandong to prevent the Russians from seizing the area from the Qing. After conquering the Ming, the Qing identified their state as China, the lands in Manchuria were explicitly stated by the Qing to belong to China in Qing edicts and in the Treaty of Nerchinsk. The area of Manchuria was then converted into three provinces by the late Qing government in 1907, as the power of the court in Beijing weakened, many outlying areas either broke free or fell under the control of Imperialist powers. In the 19th century, Imperial Russia was most interested in the lands of the Qing Empire. In 1858, Russia gained control over a tract of land called Outer Manchuria thanks to the Supplementary Treaty of Beijing that ended the Second Opium War

5.
Battle of Okinawa
–
The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own air force. The battle has been referred to as the typhoon of steel in English, the nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks, and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific, with an total of over 82,000 direct casualties on both sides,14,009 Allied deaths and 77,417 Japanese soldiers. Allied grave registration forces counted 110,071 dead bodies of Japanese soldiers,149,425 Okinawans were killed, committed suicide or went missing, a significant proportion of the estimated pre-war 300,000 local population. As part of the operations surrounding the battle, the Japanese battleship Yamato was sunk. After the battle, Okinawa provided an anchorage, troop staging areas. Expeditionary Troops under Lieutenant General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. with Tenth Army, TF56 was the largest force within TF50 and was built around the 10th Army. The army had two corps under its command, III Amphibious Corps, consisting of 1st and 6th Marine Divisions, the 2nd Marine Division was an afloat reserve, and Tenth Army also controlled the 27th Infantry Division, earmarked as a garrison, and 77th Infantry Divisions. In all, the Army had over 102,000 soldiers, at the start of Battle of Okinawa 10th Army had 182,821 men under its command. It was planned that General Buckner would report to Turner until the phase was completed. Although Allied land forces were composed of U. S. units. Although all the carriers were provided by Britain, the carrier group was a combined British Commonwealth fleet with British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian ships. Their mission was to neutralize Japanese airfields in the Sakishima Islands, most of the air-to-air fighters and the small dive bombers and strike aircraft were U. S. Navy carrier-based airplanes. The Japanese land campaign was conducted by the 67, 000-strong regular 32nd Army and some 9,000 Imperial Japanese Navy troops at Oroku naval base, supported by 39,000 drafted local Ryukyuan people. The Japanese had used kamikaze tactics since the Battle of Leyte Gulf, between the American landing on 1 April and 25 May, seven major kamikaze attacks were attempted, involving more than 1,500 planes. The 32nd Army initially consisted of the 9th, 24th, and 62nd Divisions, the 9th Division was moved to Taiwan prior to the invasion, resulting in shuffling of Japanese defensive plans. Primary resistance was to be led in the south by Lt. General Mitsuru Ushijima, his chief of staff, Lieutenant General Isamu Chō and his chief of operations, Yahara advocated a defensive strategy, whilst Chō advocated an offensive one

6.
Tokyo
–
Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islands. Formerly known as Edo, it has been the de facto seat of government since 1603 when Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu made the city his headquarters. It officially became the capital after Emperor Meiji moved his seat to the city from the old capital of Kyoto in 1868, Tokyo Metropolis was formed in 1943 from the merger of the former Tokyo Prefecture and the city of Tokyo. The Tokyo metropolitan government administers the 23 Special Wards of Tokyo, the metropolitan government also administers 39 municipalities in the western part of the prefecture and the two outlying island chains. The population of the wards is over 9 million people. The prefecture is part of the worlds most populous metropolitan area with upwards of 37.8 million people, the city hosts 51 of the Fortune Global 500 companies, the highest number of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked third in the International Financial Centres Development IndexEdit, the city is also home to various television networks such as Fuji TV, Tokyo MX, TV Tokyo, TV Asahi, Nippon Television, NHK and the Tokyo Broadcasting System. Tokyo ranked first in the Global Economic Power Index and fourth in the Global Cities Index. The city is considered a world city – as listed by the GaWCs 2008 inventory – and in 2014. In 2015, Tokyo was named the Most Liveable City in the world by the magazine Monocle, the Michelin Guide has awarded Tokyo by far the most Michelin stars of any city in the world. Tokyo ranked first in the world in the Safe Cities Index, the 2016 edition of QS Best Student Cities ranked Tokyo as the 3rd-best city in the world to be a university student. Tokyo hosted the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 1979 G-7 summit, the 1986 G-7 summit, and the 1993 G-7 summit, and will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tokyo was originally known as Edo, which means estuary. During the early Meiji period, the city was also called Tōkei, some surviving official English documents use the spelling Tokei. However, this pronunciation is now obsolete, the name Tokyo was first suggested in 1813 in the book Kondō Hisaku, written by Satō Nobuhiro. When Ōkubo Toshimichi proposed the renaming to the government during the Meiji Restoration, according to Oda Kanshi, Tokyo was originally a small fishing village named Edo, in what was formerly part of the old Musashi Province. Edo was first fortified by the Edo clan, in the twelfth century

7.
Sabae, Fukui
–
Sabae is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 15,1955, as of June 1,2011, the city has an estimated population of 68,703, with 22,229 households and a population density of 810.65 persons per km². The total area is 84.75 km², sabae is one of the largest manufacturing centers of eyeglass frames in Japan. Sabae is also home to a significant chemical and rayon industry, in 1995, the city was host to the World Gymnastics Championships. Nishiyama koen is particularly beautiful in springtime, when hundreds of azaleas trees bloom on the slopes, the effect turns the park into a glorious island of pink blossoms in an otherwise drab industrial city. The ruins of Mitsumine Castle are located within the city

8.
Infantry division
–
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II

9.
Call sign
–
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitter station. In North America, they are used for all FCC licensed transmitters, a call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a stations identity. The use of signs as unique identifiers dates to the landline railroad telegraph system. Because there was only one line linking all railroad stations. In order to time, two-letter identifiers were adopted for this purpose. This pattern continued in operation, radio companies initially assigned two-letter identifiers to coastal stations and stations aboard ships at sea. These were not globally unique, so a company identifier was later added. Merchant and naval vessels are assigned call signs by their national licensing authorities, in the case of states such as Liberia or Panama, which are flags of convenience for ship registration, call signs for larger vessels consist of the national prefix plus three letters. United States merchant vessels are given call signs beginning with the letters W or K while US naval ships are assigned callsigns beginning with N, leisure craft with VHF radios may not be assigned call signs, in which case the name of the vessel is used instead. Ships in the US wishing to have a radio licence anyway are under F. C. C, class SA, Ship recreational or voluntarily equipped. Those calls follow the land mobile format of the initial letter K or W followed by 1 or 2 letters followed by 3 or 4 numbers. U. S. Coast Guard small boats have a number that is shown on both bows in which the first two digits indicate the length of the boat in feet. For example, Coast Guard 47021 refers to the 21st in the series of 47 foot motor lifeboats, the call sign might be abbreviated to the final two or three numbers during operations, for example, Coast Guard zero two one. Call signs in aviation are derived from several different policies, depending upon the type of flight operation, in most countries, unscheduled general aviation flights identify themselves using the call sign corresponding to the aircrafts registration number. In this case, the sign is spoken using the International Civil Aviation Organization phonetic alphabet. Aircraft registration numbers internationally follow the pattern of a country prefix, for example, an aircraft registered as N978CP conducting a general aviation flight would use the call sign November-niner-seven-eight-Charlie-Papa. However, in the United States a pilot of an aircraft would normally omit saying November, at times, general aviation pilots might omit additional preceding numbers and use only the last three numbers and letters. This is especially true at uncontrolled fields when reporting traffic pattern positions, for example, Skyhawk eight-Charlie-Papa, left base

10.
Kwantung Army
–
The Kwantung Army was an army group of the Imperial Japanese Army in the first half of the 20th century. It became the largest and most prestigious command in the IJA, in August 1945, the army group, only around 713,000 men at the time, was defeated by and surrendered to Soviet troops as a result of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Following the Russo-Japanese War, Japan obtained the Kwantung Leased Territory, Kwantung means east of Shanhaiguan, a guarded pass, east of which lies Manchuria. It was headquartered in Port Arthur, known as Ryojun in Japanese, after a reorganization in 1919, the Kwantung Garrison was renamed the Kwantung Army. They also advocated an aggressive, expansionist foreign policy regarding the Asian mainland. Members or former members of the Kwantung Army were active in numerous coup détat attempts against the civilian government, conspirators within the junior officer corps of the Kwantung Army plotted and carried out the assassination of Manchurian warlord Chang Tsolin in the Huanggutun Incident of 1928. Presented with the fait accompli, Imperial General Headquarters had little choice, the success of the campaign meant that the insubordination of the Kwantung Army was rewarded rather than punished. With the foundation of Manchukuo in 1932, the Kwantung Army played a role in the political administration of the new state as well as in its defense. When war broke out in the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in July 1937, its forces participated in Battle of Beiping-Tianjin, later, Kwantung forces supported the war in China from time to time. The Kwantung Army was heavily augmented over the few years, up to a strength of 700,000 troops by 1941. The Kwantung Army also oversaw the creation, training, and equipping of an auxiliary force, during this time, Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda worked as liaison officer between the Imperial house and the Kwantung Army. Although a source of constant unrest during the 1930s, the Kwantung Army remained remarkably obedient during the 1940s. As combat spread south into central China and southern China in the Second Sino-Japanese War, however, as the war situation began to deteriorate for the Imperial Japanese Army on all fronts, the large, well-trained, and well-equipped Kwantung Army could no longer be held in strategic reserve. Many of its front line units were stripped of their best units and equipment. Other units were sent south into China for Operation Ichi-Go, by 1945, the Kwantung Army consisted of a mere 713,000 personnel, divided into 31 infantry divisions, nine infantry brigades, two tank brigades, and one special purpose brigade. It also possessed 1,155 light tanks,5,360 guns, the quality of troops had fallen drastically, as all the best men and materiel were siphoned off for use in other theaters. These forces were replaced by militia, draft levies, reservists, the Kwantung Army had also bacteriological weapons, prepared for use against Soviet troops. The bulk of equipment was developed in the 1930s

11.
Changchun
–
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, and is located in the northeast of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a sub-provincial city, according to the 2010 census of China, Changchun had a total population of 7,674,439 under its jurisdiction. The citys urbanized area, comprising 5 districts and 4 development areas, had a population of 3,815,270 in 2010 as the Shuangyang, the name of the city means long spring in Chinese. Between 1932 and 1945, Changchun was renamed Hsinking by the Japanese as it became the capital of the Japanese puppet state Manchukuo, after the foundation of the Peoples Republic of China in 1949, Changchun was established as the provincial capital of Jilin in 1954. Known locally as Chinas City of Automobiles, Changchun is an important industrial base with a focus on the automotive sector. Because of its key role in the automobile industry, Changchun was sometimes referred to as the Detroit of China. Apart from this aspect, Changchun is also one of four National Garden Cities awarded by the Ministry of Construction of P. R. China in 2001 due to its high urban greening rate, Changchun was initially established on imperial decree as a small trading post and frontier village during the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor in the Qing dynasty. Trading activities mainly involved furs and other products during this period. In 1800, the Jiaqing Emperor selected a small village on the east bank of the Yitong River, at the end of 18th century peasants from overpopulated provinces such as Shandong and Hebei began to settle in the region. In 1889, the village was promoted into a city known as Changchun Fu, in May 1898, Changchun got its first railway station, located in Kuancheng, part of the railway from Harbin to Lüshun, constructed by the Russian Empire. After Russias loss of the southernmost section of this branch as a result of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, an epidemic of pneumonic plague occurred in surrounding Manchuria from 1910 to 1911. It was the worst-ever recorded outbreak of plague which was spread through the Trans-Manchurian railway from the border trade port of Manzhouli. This turned out to be the beginning of the pneumonic plague pandemic of Manchuria and Mongolia which ultimately claimed 60,000 victims. The Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05 and saw the transfer, the guiding ideology of the overall design was to build a high standard colonial city with sophisticated facilities, multiple functions and large scale. Accordingly, nearly 7 million Yen on average was allocated on a basis for urban planning. The two helped forming two intersections with the prototypes, which led to two circles of South and West. The two sub-civic centres served as axis on which eight radial roads were blazed that took the shape of a sectoral structure and this kind of radial circles and the design concept of urban roads were at that time quite advanced and scientific

12.
Harbin
–
Harbin is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang province in the northeastern region of the Peoples Republic of China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, Harbin is the eighth most populous Chinese city and the most populous city in Northeast China. According to the 2010 census, the area made of seven out of nine urban districts had 5,282,093 inhabitants. Harbin serves as a key political, economic, scientific, cultural, Harbin, which was originally a Manchu word meaning a place for drying fishing nets, grew from a small rural settlement on the Songhua River to become one of the largest cities in Northeast China. Founded in 1898 with the coming of the Chinese Eastern Railway, having the most bitterly cold winters among major Chinese cities, Harbin is heralded as the Ice City for its well-known winter tourism and recreations. Harbin is notable for its ice sculpture festival in the winter. Besides being well known for its historical Russian legacy, the city serves as an important gateway in Sino-Russian trade today, in the 1920s, the city was considered Chinas fashion capital since new designs from Paris and Moscow reached here first before arriving in Shanghai. The city has been voted China Top Tourist City by China National Tourism Administration in 2004, on 22 June 2010, Harbin was appointed a City of Music by the UN. Human settlement in the Harbin area dates from at least 2200 BC during the late Stone Age, Wanyan Aguda, the founder and first emperor of the Jin dynasty, was born in the Jurchen Wanyan tribes who resided near the Ashi River in this region. In AD1115 Aguda established Jins capital Shangjing Huining Prefecture in todays Acheng District of Harbin, after Agudas death, the new emperor Wanyan Sheng ordered the construction of a new city on a uniform plan. The planning and construction emulated major Chinese cities, in particular Bianjing, Huining Prefecture served as the first superior capital of the Jin empire until Wanyan Liang moved the capital to Yanjing in 1153. Liang even went so far as to destroy all palaces in his capital in 1157. Wanyan Liangs successor Wanyan Yong restored the city and established it as a capital in 1173. Ruins of the Shangjing Huining Prefecture were discovered and excavated about 2 km from present-day Achengs central urban area, the site of the old Jin capital ruins is a national historic reserve, and includes the Jin Dynasty History Museum. The museum, open to the public, was renovated in late 2005, mounted statues of Aguda and of his chief commander Wanyan Zonghan stand in the grounds of the museum. Many of the artifacts there are on display in nearby Harbin. After the Mongol conquest of the Jin Empire, Huining Prefecture was abandoned, in the 17th century, the Manchus used building materials from Huining Prefecture to construct their new stronghold in Alchuka. The region of Harbin remained largely rural until the 1800s, with ten villages

13.
Qiqihar
–
Qiqihar is one of the 13 Larger Municipalities in China, and the second largest city in the Heilongjiang province, China. The built-up area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 979,517 inhabitants and these are mainly Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including Manchu, Daur, and Mongolians. Close to Qiqihar are numerous wetlands and the Zhalong Nature Reserve, the Khitan people settled in the region under the Liao dynasty. The word Qiqi is a reference to a river, the word hari refers to defense. Qiqihar is one of the oldest cities in the northeast of China, the region was originally settled by nomadic Daur and Tungus herdsmen. Qiqihar is a Daur word, which border or natural pasture. The citys original name was Bukui, the Chinese transcription of a Daur word meaning auspicious, the citys oldest mosque, the Bukui Mosque, actually predates the foundation of the city itself by seven years. As the Czarist Russian eastward advance to the Pacific coast, Qiqihar became a major center in 1674. In 1691, a stronghold was constructed in Qiqihar because of the Qing governments campaigns against the Mongols, around 1700 it was a center for Russo-Chinese trade. A military depot with barracks and an arsenal was set up there, Heilongjiang Martial domiciled in Qiqihar City in 1699. It enlisted Han people to teach the local Solon people farming techniques, providing materials. In 1903, The completion of the Chinese Eastern Railway made Qiqihar a center for communications between China and Russia, a network of lines radiating from Qiqihar was extended into the northwestern part of Heilongjiang Province including Jiagedaqi and Manzhouli in the late 1920s. General Ma Zhanshan was ordered to act as Governor and Military Commander-in-chief of Heilongjiang Province on October 10,1931, General Ma declined a Japanese ultimatum to surrender Qiqihar on November 15. However, after the loss of Jiangqiao Campaign, the Japanese began their occupation of Qiqihar on November 19,1931, Qiqihar became a major military base for Guandong Army and its economic importance also grew rapidly. During the occupation, the Imperial Japanese Army established Unit 516 in Qiqihar for research into chemical warfare, a major mustard gas tank left over from the Second Sino-Japanese War buried underground was accidentally damaged in August 2003, causing 43 injuries and one death. After the defeat of Japan, the Democratic Regime Qiqihar Municipal Government was established, Japanese forces in Northeast China surrendered to the Soviet Union while Japanese forces in the rest of China surrendered to the United States. Qiqihar was controlled by the Communists on April 24,1946, along with important regional cities like Changchun, Jilin City. Qiqihar was established as the capital of Heilongjiang Province after the foundation of Peoples Republic of China in 1949, however, since Songjiang Province was merged into Heilongjiang Province, the provincial capital was transferred to Harbin in 1954

14.
Battle of Saipan
–
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, in the campaigns of 1943 and the first half of 1944, the Allies had captured the Solomon Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Marshall Islands and the Papuan Peninsula of New Guinea. This left the Japanese holding the Philippines, the Caroline Islands, Palau Islands and it had always been the intention of the American planners to bypass the Carolines and Palauan islands and to seize the Marianas and Taiwan. From these latter bases, communications between the Japanese archipelago and Japanese forces to the south and west could be cut. From the Marianas, Japan would be well within the range of an air offensive relying on the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress long-range bomber with its radius of 1,500 mi. The Japanese, expecting an attack somewhere on their perimeter, thought an attack on the Caroline Islands most likely, to reinforce and supply their garrisons, they needed naval and air superiority, so Operation A-Go, a major carrier attack, was prepared for June 1944. Smith XXIV Corps Artillery — Brigadier General Arthur M. Harper 1st Provisional Gun Group 225th Field Artillery Howitzer Group 2nd Marine Division — Major General Thomas E, fifteen battleships were involved, and 165,000 shells were fired. Seven modern fast battleships delivered 2,40016 in shells, but to avoid potential minefields, fire was from a distance of 10,000 yd or more, the following day the eight older battleships and 11 cruisers under Admiral Jesse B. Oldendorf replaced the fast battleships but were lacking in time and ammunition, the landings began at 07,00 on 15 June 1944. More than 300 LVTs landed 8,000 Marines on the west coast of Saipan by about 09,00, eleven fire support ships covered the Marine landings. However, by nightfall, the 2nd and 4th Marine Divisions had a beachhead about 6 mi wide and 0.5 mi deep, the Japanese counter-attacked at night but were repulsed with heavy losses. On 16 June, units of the U. S. Armys 27th Infantry Division landed and advanced on the airfield at Ås Lito, again the Japanese counter-attacked at night. On 18 June, Saito abandoned the airfield, the invasion surprised the Japanese high command, which had been expecting an attack further south. Admiral Soemu Toyoda, Commander-in-Chief of the Japanese Navy, saw an opportunity to use the A-Go force to attack the U. S. Navy forces around Saipan, on 15 June, he gave the order to attack. But the resulting battle of the Philippine Sea was a disaster for the Imperial Japanese Navy, the garrisons of the Marianas would have no hope of resupply or reinforcement. Without resupply, the battle on Saipan was hopeless for the defenders, Saito organized his troops into a line anchored on Mount Tapotchau in the defensible mountainous terrain of central Saipan. The nicknames given by the Americans to the features of the battle — Hells Pocket, Purple Heart Ridge, the Japanese used the many caves in the volcanic landscape to delay the attackers, by hiding during the day and making sorties at night. The Americans gradually developed tactics for clearing the caves by using flamethrower teams supported by artillery, however, General Holland Smith had not inspected the terrain over which the 27th was to advance

15.
Saipan
–
Saipan /saɪˈpæn/ is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipans population was 48,220, the Commonwealths center of government is located in the village of Capitol Hill on the island. Since the entire island is organized as a municipality, most publications term Saipan as the Commonwealths capital. The current Mayor of Saipan is David M. Apatang, who was sworn into office on June 12,2015, Saipan is the second-largest island in the Mariana Islands archipelago, after Guam. It is located about 120 mi north of Guam and 5 nautical miles northeast of Tinian, Saipan is about 12 mi long and 5.6 mi wide, with a land area of 115.38 km2. The western side of the island is lined with sandy beaches, the eastern shore is composed primarily of rugged rocky cliffs and a reef. A narrow underwater bank of Marpi Reef lies 28 mi north of the Saipan, the highest elevation on Saipan is a limestone-covered mountain called Mount Tapochau at 1,560 ft. Unlike many of the mountains in the Mariana Islands, it is not an extinct volcano, to the north of Mount Tapochau towards Banzai Cliff is a ridge of hills. Mount Achugao, situated about 2 miles north, has interpreted to be a remnant of a stratified composite volcanic cone whose Eocene center was not far north of the present peak. Saipans flora is predominantly limestone forest, some developed areas on the island are covered with Leucaena leucocephala, also known as tangan-tangan trees, that were spread broadly some time after World War II. Tangan-Tangan trees were introduced, primarily, as an erosion-prevention mechanism, remaining native forest occurs in small isolated fragments on steep slopes at low elevations and highland conservation areas of the island. Coconuts, papayas, and Thai hot peppers – locally called donni såli or boonie peppers – are among the fruits grow wild. Mango, taro root, breadfruit, and bananas are a few of the many foods cultivated by local families, Saipan is home to a number of endemic bird species. Among them, the Mariana fruit dove, white-throated ground dove, bridled white-eye, golden white-eye, Micronesian myzomela and the endangered nightingale reed warbler. The island used to have a population of giant African land snails, introduced either deliberately as a food source, or accidentally by shipping. In the last few decades, its numbers have been controlled by an introduced flatworm. Unfortunately, possibly due to the flatworm, the native tree-snails also became extinct, Saipan has a tropical marine climate moderated by seasonal trade winds from the northeast from November to March, and easterly winds from May to October. Average year-round temperature is 84 °F, there is little seasonal temperature variation, and Saipan has been cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as having the least fluctuating temperatures in the world

16.
Thirty-Second Army (Japan)
–
The Japanese 32nd Army was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II. It was annihilated during the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese 32nd Army had 77,000 men plus the 10,000 man Okinawa Naval Base Force and 42,000 Okinawan conscripts. However, many of its personnel were poorly trained reservists, conscripted students and it was annihilated during the Battle of Okinawa from April to June,1945. Gugeler, Russel A. and Stevens, John, Gerald, washington DC, United States Army Center of Military History. CS1 maint, Multiple names, authors list Astor, Gerald, operation Iceberg, The Invasion and Conquest of Okinawa in World War II. The Battle of Okinawa, The Blood and the Bomb, downfall, The End of the Imperial Japanese Empire. Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945, the Pacific War Companion, From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima

17.
Miyakojima
–
Miyako-jima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako-jima is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which not only Miyako-jima. Miyako-jima lies approximately 300 kilometres southwest of Okinawa Island and 400 kilometres east of Taipei, with an area of 158.70 square kilometres, Miyako is the fourth-largest island in Okinawa Prefecture. The island is triangular in shape and is composed of Ryukyuan limestone, Miyako-jima is subject to drought and is frequently struck by typhoons. Miyako-jima is well known for its beauty, particularly the Eastern Cape, other notable locations include Maehama beach, the German Cultural Center, Painagama Beach, and the sights on Irabu-jima. There are three islands close by which are connected by bridges to Miyako-jima, Irabujima, Ikemajima, the Miyako language, one of several Ryukyuan languages, is spoken here. Miyako is home to a festival called Paantu, which occurs in the ninth month of the old calendar. Three men dressed in grass, leaves and mud go walk around town smearing the mud on houses, cars and they carry sticks in one hand and an expressionless mask in the other. Legend holds that those who have been muddied by the Pantu will have a year of protection, owners of new homes will also invite Pantu to give a muddy blessing to their homes. Miyako has its own version of soba, Otori is a custom of drinking Awamori, a distilled beverage native to Okinawa Japan. It is performed by people sitting, one offers a toast, drinks from a small glass, and then offers some to each person at the table making a round, and usually going to the right. When the toaster makes his way back to his spot the person who passed the Otori before pours him another glass and he then announces TSUNAGIMASU and drinks his second glass. After a brief interval, it is then the turn of the person to pass the Otori. Miyako-jima is home to sugarcane cultivation, and produces brown sugar, Miyako jōfu is a locally produced hand-woven textile made from ramie fiber. It was formerly known as Satsuma jōfu, the textile traces its production to the Tensho period, 1573-92. This is part of ongoing efforts to improve the defenses of the Nansei Islands, consideration is also currently being given to deploying GSDF units equipped with anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles to the island. Miyakojima City Tropical Plant Garden Japan Airlines maintains an office on Miyako Island. It is only for domestic flights

18.
Ishigaki, Okinawa
–
Ishigaki is a city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It includes Ishigaki island and the disputed Senkaku Islands territory, the city is the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. New Ishigaki Airport serves the city, as of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 48,816 and a population density of 213 persons per km2. The total area is 229.00 km2, Ishigaki was founded in 1908 as Yaeyama Village, an amalgamation of the Ishigaki, Ōhama, and Miyara magiri. In 1914 it was renamed to Ishigaki Village, and grew to become Ishigaki Town in 1926, Ishigaki was elevated to city status on July 10,1947. The city of Ishigaki covers the entirety of Ishigaki Island, the island is surrounded by coral reefs. The highest point on Ishigaki Island is Omotodake, the uninhabited Senkaku Islands are located 150 kilometres north of the Ishigaki Island. The Senkaku Islands cover roughly 6.3 square kilometres, Ishigaki has a tropical rainforest climate with hot summers and warm winters. Precipitation is abundant throughout the year, the rainiest months are August and September while the driest months are December, new Ishigaki Airport and Ishigaki Port serve the city. Tourism is also an important part of the economy of the city, the town of Ishigaki has various sights to offer. Gongen Do is a sightworthy Shinto shrine close to the center of Ishigaki town which was founded in 1614, the shrine was destroyed during a flood in 1771. The present buildings date from 1787, the neighbouring building is Torin Ji, a buddhist temple which was founded in 1614 as well. It houses several statues dating from 1737 which possibly represent tutelary gods of Ishigaki Island, close by is Miyaradunchi, a residential building dating from 1819. Its architecture with a hip roof consisting of red tiles is similar to houses on mainland Japan. The Museum of the Yaeyama Islands, Shiritsu Yaeyama Hakubutsukan, is on Main Street in the center of Ishigaki town, various kinds of boats and other items referring to the history and culture of the Yaeyama Islands can be seen. It is famous for being the southernmost museum of Japan, fuzaki Kannon Do is a small Shinto shrine dating from 1742. It is 5 km west of the town on a hill offering a view of Ishigaki and Iriomote. The shrine is dedicated to Kannon, the Shinto goddess of mercy, tojinbaka is tomb in a typical Chinese style about 6 km west the town on the ring road

19.
Surrender of Japan
–
The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2,1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting major operations, on August 6,1945, at 8,15 AM local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Sixteen hours later, American President Harry S. Truman called again for Japans surrender, warning them to expect a rain of ruin from the air, later in the day, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, this time on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. After several more days of negotiations and a failed coup détat. In the radio address, called the Jewel Voice Broadcast, he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies, on August 28, the occupation of Japan by the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers began. The role of the bombings in Japans unconditional surrender. The state of war ended when the Treaty of San Francisco came into force on April 28,1952. Four more years passed before Japan and the Soviet Union signed the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, by 1945, the Japanese had suffered an unbroken string of defeats for nearly two years in the South West Pacific, the Marianas campaign, and the Philippines campaign. In July 1944, following the loss of Saipan, General Hideki Tōjō was replaced as minister by General Kuniaki Koiso. After the Japanese loss of the Philippines, Koiso in turn was replaced by Admiral Kantarō Suzuki, the Allies captured the nearby islands of Iwo Jima and Okinawa in the first half of 1945. Okinawa was to be an area for Operation Downfall, the American invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. The Allied submarine campaign and the mining of Japanese coastal waters had largely destroyed the Japanese merchant fleet, the destruction of the Japanese merchant fleet, combined with the strategic bombing of Japanese industry, had wrecked Japans war economy. Production of coal, iron, steel, rubber, and other vital supplies was only a fraction of that before the war, as a result of the losses it had suffered, the Imperial Japanese Navy had ceased to be an effective fighting force. Although 19 destroyers and 38 submarines were still operational, their use was limited by the lack of fuel, the only course left is for Japans one hundred million people to sacrifice their lives by charging the enemy to make them lose the will to fight. As a final attempt to stop the Allied advances, the Japanese Imperial High Command planned an all-out defense of Kyūshū codenamed Operation Ketsugō and this was to be a radical departure from the defense in depth plans used in the invasions of Peleliu, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. Instead, everything was staked on the beachhead, more than 3,000 kamikazes would be sent to attack the transports before troops. The strategy of making a last stand at Kyūshū was based on the assumption of continued Soviet neutrality, a set of caves were excavated near Nagano on Honshu, the largest of the Japanese islands. In the event of invasion, these caves, the Matsushiro Underground Imperial Headquarters, were to be used by the army to direct the war and to house the Emperor and his family

20.
List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
–
List of Japanese Infantry divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army. During World War II, the IJA organized three Guards Divisions and over 220 infantry divisions of various types, on 7 December the IJA had two divisions serving in Japan/Korea and 50 serving abroad, most in China. During the war another 117 were raised for service and 56 were raised for national defense. These totaled 223 including the Imperial Guard, additionally one parachute and four armored divisions were formed. Of this total no more than 35, that is one fifth of the IJA infantry division total,16 coastal defense divisions with numbers from 140th to 160th were also formed as square divisions. Victor, Japanese Armed Forces Order of Battle, 1937-1945 Allentown, baton Rouge and London, Louisiana State University Press. The Japanese Mutumi troop encyclopedia 陸 軍 編

Empire of Japan
–
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military su

1.
The battleship Asahi

2.
Flag

3.
Samurai members of the First Japanese Embassy to Europe (1862), around Shibata Sadataro, head of the mission staff (seated) and Fukuzawa Yukichi (to his right) sign of the opening of Japan and Meiji Restoration.

4.
Emperor Meiji, the 122nd emperor of Japan

Imperial Japanese Army
–
The Imperial Japanese Army or IJA, literally Army of the Greater Japanese Empire, was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan, from 1871 to 1945. Later an Inspectorate General of Military Aviation became the agency with oversight of the army. During the Meiji Restoration, the forces loyal to Emperor Meiji were samurai drawn pri

1.
Training of the Shogunate troops by the first French military mission to Japan (1867–68) just before the Boshin War (1868–1869), which led to the Meiji Restoration.

2.
The ensign of the Imperial Japanese Army

3.
Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1875.

4.
Soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Satsuma Rebellion, Garrison of Kumamoto, 1877.

Infantry
–
Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and mor

1.
Early 20th-century infantry: The Royal Irish Rifles at the Battle of the Somme (July–November 1916) during the First World War (1914–18).

2.
Janissaries are a very important example in the evolution of the modern infantry.

3.
20th-century infantry: Australian infantry at Tobruk, Libya, in 1941, during the Second World War (1939–45).

4.
19th-century infantry: Brigadier General Winfield Scott leads American line infantry into the Battle of Chippawa (5 July 1814) in Canada, during the Anglo–American War of 1812 (1812–15).

Manchukuo
–
Manchukuo was a puppet state in Northeast China and Inner Mongolia, which was governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The area, collectively known as Manchuria by westerners and Japanese, was designated by Chinas erstwhile Qing Dynasty as the homeland of the familys ethnic group. In 1931, the region was seized by Japan following the Mukde

1.
Japan-Manchukuo Protocol, 15 September 1932.

2.
Flag

3.
The throne of the emperor in Manchukuo, c. 1937.

4.
Puyi as Emperor Kangde of Manchukuo

Battle of Okinawa
–
The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945. The Tenth was unique in that it had its own air force. The battle has been referred to as the typhoon of steel in English, the nicknames refer to the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of Japanese kamikaze attacks, and the sheer numbers of Allied ships and armored vehicles that ass

1.
A U.S. Marine from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines on Wana Ridge provides covering fire with his Thompson submachine gun, 18 May 1945.

2.
The last picture of U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (right), taken on 18 June 1945; later in the day he was killed by Japanese artillery.

Tokyo
–
Tokyo, officially Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of its 47 prefectures. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous area in the world. It is the seat of the Emperor of Japan and the Japanese government, Tokyo is in the Kantō region on the southeastern side of the main island Honshu and includes the Izu Islands and Ogasawara Islan

Sabae, Fukui
–
Sabae is a city located in Fukui Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on January 15,1955, as of June 1,2011, the city has an estimated population of 68,703, with 22,229 households and a population density of 810.65 persons per km². The total area is 84.75 km², sabae is one of the largest manufacturing centers of eyeglass frames in Japan. Sabae i

1.
Flag

2.
Location of Sabae in Fukui Prefecture

3.
City office

4.
Nishiyama Park

Infantry division
–
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the fir

2.
Standard NATO symbol for an infantry division. The Xs do not replace the division's number; instead, the two Xs represent a division (one would denote a brigade; three, a corps).

3.
Members of the Australian 6th Division at Tobruk, 22 January 1941

4.
British soldiers from the 1st Armoured Division engage Iraqi Army positions with their 81mm Mortar in Iraq, 26 March 2003.

Call sign
–
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitter station. In North America, they are used for all FCC licensed transmitters, a call sign can be formally assigned by a government agency, informally adopted by individuals or organizations, or even cryptographically encoded to disguise a stations identity

1.
Russian Nuclear Icebreaker "Arktika" with call sign UKTY

2.
A general aviation aircraft in the United States with its FAA civilian registration number (N98710), which also doubles as its call sign, displayed on the fuselage. However, since this is a Civil Air Patrol aircraft, it will generally be identified by CAPxxxx, based on the state from which it hails.

3.
Some U.S. states issue call sign license plates for motor vehicles owned by amateur radio operators.

4.
A 1940 QSL card for WWV, indicating its early location in the U.S. state of Maryland.

Kwantung Army
–
The Kwantung Army was an army group of the Imperial Japanese Army in the first half of the 20th century. It became the largest and most prestigious command in the IJA, in August 1945, the army group, only around 713,000 men at the time, was defeated by and surrendered to Soviet troops as a result of the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation. Fol

1.
Kwantung HQ in Hsinking, Manchukuo

2.
Kwantung Army on maneuvers

Changchun
–
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, and is located in the northeast of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a sub-provincial city, according to the 2010 census of China, Changchun had a total population of 7,674,439 under its jurisdiction. The citys urbanized area, comprising 5 dist

Harbin
–
Harbin is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang province in the northeastern region of the Peoples Republic of China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, Harbin has direct jurisdiction over nine metropolitan districts, Harbin is the eighth most populous Chinese city and the most populous city in Northeast China. According to the 20

Qiqihar
–
Qiqihar is one of the 13 Larger Municipalities in China, and the second largest city in the Heilongjiang province, China. The built-up area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 979,517 inhabitants and these are mainly Han Chinese, though the city is also home to thirty-four minorities including Manchu, Daur, and Mongolians. Close t

1.
Gate of castle wall, Tsitsihar

2.
Qiqihar (red) in Heilongjiang (orange)

3.
General Ma Zhanshan

4.
The old station building, now used for first class

Battle of Saipan
–
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June to 9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, in the campaigns of 1943 and the first half of 1944, the Allies had captured the Solomon Islands,

1.
LVTs heading for shore on 15 June 1944. Birmingham in foreground; the cruiser firing in the distance is Indianapolis.

2.
Lt. General Yoshitsugu Saitō, commander of the Imperial forces

3.
Navajo codetalkers played a key role in directing naval gunfire onto Japanese positions.

4.
Map showing the progress of the Battle of Saipan

Saipan
–
Saipan /saɪˈpæn/ is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to the 2010 United States Census, Saipans population was 48,220, the Commonwealths center of government is located in the village of Capitol Hill on the island. Since the entire island is organized as a

1.
Topographic map of Saipan Island

2.
View of northern Saipan

3.
Mount Marpi in Saipan

4.
Marines march through Garapan, July 1944

Thirty-Second Army (Japan)
–
The Japanese 32nd Army was an army of the Imperial Japanese Army during the final stages of World War II. It was annihilated during the Battle of Okinawa, the Japanese 32nd Army had 77,000 men plus the 10,000 man Okinawa Naval Base Force and 42,000 Okinawan conscripts. However, many of its personnel were poorly trained reservists, conscripted stude

1.
Japanese Commanders on Okinawa

Miyakojima
–
Miyako-jima is the largest and the most populous island among the Miyako Islands of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Miyako-jima is administered as part of the City of Miyakojima, which not only Miyako-jima. Miyako-jima lies approximately 300 kilometres southwest of Okinawa Island and 400 kilometres east of Taipei, with an area of 158.70 square kilometre

1.
Aerial view of Miyako-jima from northwest.

2.
Miyako-jima - Higashi-hennazaki

Ishigaki, Okinawa
–
Ishigaki is a city in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It includes Ishigaki island and the disputed Senkaku Islands territory, the city is the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands. New Ishigaki Airport serves the city, as of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 48,816 and a population density of 213 persons pe

Surrender of Japan
–
The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2,1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting major operations, on August 6,1945, at 8,15 AM local time, the United States detonated an atomic bomb over the Japane

1.
Japanese foreign affairs minister Mamoru Shigemitsu signs the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on board USS Missouri as General Richard K. Sutherland watches, September 2, 1945

2.
Representatives of Japan stand aboard USS Missouri prior to signing of the Instrument of Surrender.

3.
Allied landings in the Pacific Theatre of Operations, August 1942 to August 1945

4.
The rebuilt battle cruiser Haruna sank at her moorings in the naval base of Kure on July 24 during a series of bombings.

List of Japanese Infantry Divisions
–
List of Japanese Infantry divisions of the Imperial Japanese Army. During World War II, the IJA organized three Guards Divisions and over 220 infantry divisions of various types, on 7 December the IJA had two divisions serving in Japan/Korea and 50 serving abroad, most in China. During the war another 117 were raised for service and 56 were raised